Don't raise your expectations too high – Lecturer tells Ghanaians

The expectations of Ghanaians from the yet-to-be formed Nana Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government should not be raised too high because of the reality that will set in after the president-elect takes office, a lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Dr Lord Mensah, has admonished.

He was of the view that the flag bearer of the NPP made several promises during his campaign when he was not in charge as the president of Ghana.

Therefore, information available to him concerning the situation on the ground was secondary and may not be the true reflections.

He has, therefore, advised Ghanaians to be measured in their hopes of the new government.

“If you look at the promises, they were made based on information that was not first-hand. Those information were secondary and different from you being in power and making such promise, so I think Ghanaians should be careful on the expectations, if they are to expect more,” he told Emefa Apawu on Class FM 505 news programme on Tuesday, December 13.

Dr Mensah’s opinion resonated with that of Isaac Brako, a political scientist with the University of Education, Winneba, who stated on the same programme that the new government had not been sworn into office, hence the numerous demands that have started pouring in were needless.

His comment follows the request by the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) to the effect that the new government should overhaul the civil service for efficiency and productivity.

In a press conference organised in Accra on Tuesday, December 13, AFAG General Secretary Arnold Boateng argued that for maximum productivity and development of the nation, some changes needed to be effected within the civil service.

“We hope that the civil service will be overhauled to reflect the expectations of the new government and its policies. Indeed, some of them are more partisan, others are there without merit, and some purely on vested interest,” he disclosed.

In addition to AFAG, the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA) also wants the incoming NPP government to immediately review the current tax regime when it takes over power from January 2017, after the NPP promised to scrap several taxes and reduce others to enable businesses have the space to expand and employ more people.

But speaking in an interview with Emefa Apawu on Class 91.3 FM’s ‘505’ programme on Tuesday December 13, Mr Brako said : “I think it has come too early because when you look at the policy making process or what we call Policy Life Cycle, it begins with identification of the problem. The government identifies the problem (and then finds solutions to them). So many segments or groups in the society are confronted with problems but the government cannot get money to address all these problems at a go…”

He added that: “You can use lobby as these groups are seeking to do, you can use strike, boycott and demonstrations. There are many other means of making those demands from the policy makers or the government.
“But the government has not even been introduced and people have started making demands and so I think the timing is a bit wrong. The government has not been inaugurated so I think that has come too early.”